Wielder of Souls
by Akyesein
Summary: Truth rejects Ed's offer to use his own Gate to restore Al's body in favor of tossing Ed into Lore. Ed is determined to find a way home, but with the nonsensical laws of magic governing Lore, he finds himself in way over his head. Full summary inside.
1. Gate's Breath

**Verse: **_Dragonfable-_The world of Lore, post Ravenloss War, pre-Entropy, pre-Sepulchure's Siege of Falconreach, pre-Drakath-Dragon. _Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-_Amestris, post episode 63.

**Summary: **Ed, intending to use his own Gate to bring Al back, finds that the Truth has other plans. In exchange for returning his brother's body and soul to Amestris, Ed is thrown into Lore, a world that is, in his eyes, completely backwards. There, he meets Kael, an experienced Dragon Mage and Soulweaver. He is determined to find a way back to Amestris, but with the chaotic and often nonsensical laws of magic governing Lore, he finds himself in way over his head.

**Pairings:** None yet, beyond the canon.

**Rating: **Rated T for violence, blood, gore, and possible (but unlikely) character death.

**Author's Note: **This is a random idea I've been playing with for a good long while. When the Ravenloss quest chain in Dragonfable was first completed, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between parts of it and Fullmetal Alchemist: the Gate, the Wheel of Judgment, the little black hands that hold the Wheel of Judgment, Envy, Greed, Lust… I can go on. (Seriously, I CAN'T have been the only one who noticed…)

(I would also like to add that some of the Soulweaver abilities also seemed to me like references to Bleach and Soul Eater, the Bleach reference being the Repentance skill with its black butterflies, and the Soul Eater references being the Soul Burst skill with its whole "deal a concussive strike to your opponents soul" bit, as well as the concept of madness overtaking the Chaosweavers.)

Kael (pronounced KAY-ell) is based off of my own Dragonfable character, Hikari. They're pretty much the same, though I felt that giving her a different name would be best, seeing as "Hikari" means "light," which, considering her role in the plot, is kind of silly. I COULD tell you about Kael/Hikari and her various stats, but I'm just gonna let the story do that bit. :3

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own either Dragonfable or Fullmetal Alchemist (in any of its incarnations). I am merely toying with their characters to suit my own fangirl-ish tendencies. Kael and Nirin, however, do belong to me.

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><p><strong>Wielder of Souls<strong>

Chapter 1

**Gate's Breath**

_Central_

_The Country of Amestris_

The screams of the Homunculus of the Flask had fallen from the air, but that did not stop the last echoes of them from ringing in Edward Elric's ears as he knelt next to the hollow, broken armor that had housed his brother's soul up until a few minutes before.

"What?" he heard Colonel Mustang say quietly. "What happened? Did we win?" Poor bastard was so blind he couldn't even tell it was over.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye replied gravely. "However, Alphonse has not returned from the other side."

Mei, that little girl from Xing, sat on the other side of Alphonse's armor, face buried in her hands, muttering the same apology over and over as she tried to stifle her tears.

"It's not your fault," Ed told her in a hoarse voice. "It was Al's decision."

"Ed."

He looked up at Ling. The former homunculus held up a tiny vial of red liquid. "I have a Philosopher's Stone. Use it to get him back."

Ed gritted his teeth and pressed his right fist, now flesh and blood again, into the cracked and charred ground. "I can't. I promised Al that we wouldn't use Philosopher's Stones to get our bodies back."

_'There has to be a way…'_ he thought to himself. '_There just has to be…'_

"Edward." Ed's breath hitched at the sound of his father's voice. Two pairs of golden eyes met, one fearful, the other grave. "Use my life to bring Alphonse back." Ed's jaw dropped in utter horror. "There is just enough left in me to bring back one person."

The dismayed look on the young alchemist's face turned to one of fury.

"You… complete dumbass. There's no way I could do something like that! It's our fault, mine and Alphonse's, that we lost our bodies. I have already said over and over that I will _not _use human lives to bring Al back!" He raised an accusing finger toward his father. "And why do you even feel the need to give your life for him?"

"Because I am his father." Ed lowered his arm and turned away. "This isn't about need or reason. Both you and Alphonse are dear to me, and all I want is for you both to be happy. I was wrong to abandon you and your mother, and it is partially my fault that the two of you ended up the way you did. I am sorry.

"I've lived long enough," Hohenheim continued, the look in his eyes making him seem far older than Ed had ever seen him. "At least let me act like a father in the end."

Ed screwed his eyes shut in the effort to hold back tears. "Don't be ridiculous! _Never_ say anything like that again! I'll _kill _you if you do!" Tears were flowing freely now, making clean streaks through the blood and dust that marred his face. Salt from the tears stung as they passed over the many cuts on his face.

"I'm sorry, Edward."

Ed forced himself to look away from his father and back to the empty armor that was all that was left of his little brother.

_'Think!'_ he thought to himself. _'You're the youngest State Alchemist in history! You can think of some way to make this work!'_

As he stared down at his hands-they were still slightly mismatched; his newly reclaimed arm was much bonier than the other-revelation struck him. It could work… It had to.

Mei's crying caught Ed's attention. She was lying there, forehead pressed to the ground, shoulders shaking as she sobbed his brother's name over and over. His eyes slid from May to everyone around him in turn. Everyone he had ever come to care about…

Balling his hands into fists, he got to his feet.

"Mei." the girl looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. "Stand back a bit, will you?" Without waiting for her to reply, Ed walked over to a stick that was laying on the ground and picked it up. Slowly, he began sketching out a transmutation circle. It had to be perfect…

"Hey!" Ling shouted as realization dawned on him. "That's… a _human _transmutation circle!"

"Yeah," Ed confirmed. "Everyone," he looked around at all the surrounding faces, "I'll be right back." He raised his hands. "This is the Fullmetal Alchemist's final transmutation."

He brought both palms together with a resounding clap. Blue lightning sparked around his hands, and before it could die away, he pressed both palms to the ground at the center of the transmutation circle. The entire circle flashed blue and white as the familiar rush of energy washed over him.

People were calling his name, but he didn't hear them. One more bright flash, and suddenly…

Everything went white.

A great stone door loomed behind him. In front, a figure, featureless save for a lipless mouth, sat cross-legged on nothing.

"You're here to bring your brother back, aren't you?" Truth said in a voice that echoed Ed's own. "But how are you gonna pull a whole person out of here?" Truth tilted its head to one side. "What price will you offer this time? Your body?"

Ed smirked. "I've got your price right here." He jabbed his thumb at the door behind him. "This is _my _gateway of truth, which means it's up to me how I use it, right?"

Truth's momentarily dumbstruck mouth turned upwards into a grin as it laughed. "Is that really what it's come to…? You sure about this? If you lose your gateway, you'll never be able to use alchemy ever again."

"Yeah, I know. But if that's what it takes."

The corners of Truth's mouth lifted into an even bigger grin as it began to laugh in a way that made Ed's stomach drop.

"No can do," Truth laughed. Ed's face slid first into alarm, then to pure, unadulterated fury.

"What do you mean, 'no can do'? It's _my _freakin' gate! _My _decision how to use it! And I want to use it to bring my brother back!"

"And I'm telling you that it's a price I won't accept!" Truth shouted back, making Ed fall silent. "Not for this, anyway."

Ed glared at the figure in front of him. "What?" he ground out through gritted teeth.

"The way I see it," Truth began, "everything works out equally. A body for a body, a life for a life. You give your body, a body will be made, but it takes a little extra, like an arm or a leg, to bring it into reality. Your brother is here, body and soul, no assembly required, which means you pretty much only have to pay the transport fee."

Truth smirked before continuing. "Your gate is a part of your soul. _Part_. Souls are valuable things; they make up an entire existence, not to mention each individual soul is linked to the hundreds of others it comes into contact with throughout a lifetime. What you are offering is only the very small part of your soul that allows you to work alchemy. And, true, it _would _be enough to send your brother back, entirely whole, _but_…"

Ed gulped as his heart dropped into his stomach.

"_But,"_ Truth repeated, "It would not be enough to send _you_ back home."

"So I'd be stuck here?"

"Not necessarily. I can send you somewhere else, for a small price. A limb, for example, or your sight. Taking your sight is very easy, and not quite so messy."

"What's the difference between sending me home and sending me somewhere else?"

Truth leaned forward. "Desire. You _want _to return home, which makes it far more valuable. What matters here is how much something is worth to _you_. If you were to pay the price for your return home, then it'd be too much. You'd probably end up a disembodied soul just like your brother was, and we don't want that, now, do we?"

"Where would you send me?" Ed asked through gritted teeth. Why couldn't things just work out the way he planned?

Truth shrugged. "No idea. That's out of my jurisdiction. I'll basically just point you in a random direction, and then it's up to whoever else is out there to decide what to do with you."

"What's the price?"

"I could take your sight, your other leg, I could even take your right arm again, if you wish. It'd be something familiar to you at the very least."

Ed gripped his right arm with his other hand. It had taken him years to get that arm back…

"Just do it," he muttered, fighting against the urge to punch Truth in the mouth, find Al, and walk right out of there.

"The arm, then?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, then. One arm in exchange for being tossed into a random dimension." Truth raised a hand, and the door behind Ed opened. Dozens of black hands shot forward, wrapping around Ed's right arm. He bit back a scream as the arm was eaten away all the way to the shoulder. There was no blood, not yet. Clapping his remaining hand to the, once again, empty shoulder socket, he gave Truth a look of absolute loathing.

Truth turned to look over his shoulder. "Al, you're free to go." Ed caught a glimpse of an emaciated figure sitting a ways behind Truth. _Al…_

"What?" Al looked up through shaggy, dull blond hair.

"You can go," Truth repeated. "The door's there, just head on out. I won't stop you."

"Wait!" Ed shouted, drawing Truth's attention again. "Aren't you gonna take my gate?"

"Nope," Truth said almost lazily. "I did say that your gate was a sufficient price to send your brother home, but I also said I wouldn't take it for this. Besides," Truth added with a smirk, "I've already been paid in advance."

"What are you talking about?"

Truth grinned. "Can't tell you that. Just know that someone already paid your brother's price. Lucky, eh?"

"Brother?" Al called weakly as the little black arms began pulling him through his own gate. The poor kid was trying to fight them, but he wasn't strong enough to do any good.

"AL!" Ed started running towards his brother, but more of the black arms were looping themselves around him and dragging him backwards. "ALPHONSE!"

Al screamed again just as the door swung shut, blocking him from view.

Truth was not smiling now. "It's too late, Alchemist. The price has been paid. No going back."

"You BASTARD! I'll get you for this!"

"For what? You agreed, the price is paid in full, and he's going home. It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Ed didn't get a chance to answer. His gate swung shut before he could, plunging him into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Ravenloss<em>

_The World of Lore_

It was over.

The hiccup in time finally settled back into motion as Kael fell to her knees next to the Equilibrium Gate, shedding her Soul Claws as she did so. This was not the first war she had gotten involved in, but this one was, perhaps, the most exhausting, despite being the shortest one by far. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took a sip from the small flask of blue potion she kept in her belt pouch. A wave of cool, refreshing energy passed over her, steadying her shaking limbs within moments.

Somewhere among the piles of rubble and dead bodies, a wounded Chaosweaver let loose a screech of agony as it struggled to remain on the plane of the living. Before long, the poor creature's cries grew weaker, and then faded completely.

Elsewhere, the human survivors of the battle were working to lift bodies from the rubble. Chaosweaver carcasses were set aside in a pile for members of their own kind to collect and dispose of, while the human casualties were being carried, one by one, through the portal that would lead back to the surface.

Sighing, Kael got to her feet and pulled her claws back on. She set off down the destroyed square to join the other Soulweavers in the cleanup effort. Taking hold of one dead Chaosweaver by a leg, she pulled it from the rubble and began dragging it to the nearest pile. The pile of bodies she came to was too high for her to climb, so she simply set the carcass she was carrying at the bottom of the pile.

Returning to the mound of rubble, Kael began shifting chunks of wood and masonry aside in order to dig out the other bodies that lay beneath. The next one she came across was the broken form of a dead mage. Judging by what was left of his clothes, he had been pretty low-level. There were many like him among the dead; it was common for beginning fighters and magic-wielders, in their haste to earn a name for themselves, to try to take on battles that were too much for them to handle. It rarely ended well.

Kael left what remained of the mage next to the portal for someone else to take above ground and returned to the rubble pile. She could make out part of another body at the bottom, but she had to shift a heavy wooden beam to get to it. She was able to lift one end of the beam easily enough, but when she tried to drag it away, she stumbled and nearly dropped it. A second pair of hands reached out to help support the beam as she struggled to regain her balance.

"Thanks," Kael said with a faint smile as she recognized the blond hair and green eyes of Izaac.

"No problem," Izaac said, hoisting one end of the beam onto his shoulder. Kael did the same with the other end, and together they were able to move it off to one side where it was out of the way.

"How are you holding up?" Izaac asked.

Kael sighed heavily. "Not bad, but I've been better." She brushed a few sweaty strands of hair out of her face as her eyes roamed the chaotic scene around them. "Tomix left this morning."

Izaac nodded. "I saw him leave the city. He really should have rested a bit before leaving, but he just kept muttering something about finding that Ally of his."

"Aspar." Kael wrinkled her nose at the mere mention of the spirit. "Tomix told me that Aspar was the elemental spirit of kindness, but I don't believe it. Something's off about him, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Have you told Tomix?"

"I've tried," Kael replied in a resigned voice. "But he won't hear a word of it. He's so convinced that Aspar is trustworthy that he's become blind to anything that suggests the opposite."

Izaac rubbed the back of his neck. "That's Tomix, all right. Stubborn to a fault."

"And deaf to anything he doesn't want to hear."

Izaac nodded again in agreement.

They returned to shifting the rubble in silence. Finally, they were able to get to the body at the bottom. The body was in pretty bad shape: neck broken, limbs bent every which way, and blood that had long since pooled and congealed on the ground. Kael's breath hitched in her throat when she recognized the corpse's face.

It was Char, the small child she had met mere days after she had begun her training as a Soulweaver. She could still hear the young Chaosweaver asking in a timid voice if she would please buy some of his goods so he could buy food for himself and his little brother. Kael had taken pity on the poor kid, and bought a couple of the items he had held out her.

Bending down, Kael gathered Char's body into her arms and carried him over to where members of his own species were dragging more bodies away. One of the adult Chaosweavers looked at her strangely as she set the tiny body down on the ground. A tear ran down her face as she turned around and walked back to Izaac without a word.

"If you need a break, it's fine," Izaac said quietly. Tears were running freely down Kael's face, but she shook her head, drying her eyes on her dirty shirt sleeve.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I should find Kinder, though…" She scanned the surrounding area in the hope that she would see another little face poke around a corner somewhere.

"Who's Kinder?"

"Char's little brother. He was trying to take care of him and their little sister after their father went mad." Kael rubbed her nose with one metal-clad hand. "I hope he's alright."

"We'll find him," Izaac assured her, but he wasn't able to keep the doubt from his voice.

A cold hand on Kael's shoulder made her look up. When she saw Aegis staring down at her with an impassive face, she smiled sadly.

"I'm fine, Aegis, really," she said, though she wasn't very convincing.

"Why do you weep?" the spirit asked. His voice always brought images of snow and ice to the front of Kael's mind.

"I suppose it's because I knew him."

"You knew many of the fallen, yet you do not weep for them."

Kael wiped some of the dampness from her face. "Char was an innocent child. He didn't deserve to die."

Aegis watched her with slanted blue eyes for a moment before reaching out and touching one of the tears on her cheek. It froze instantly and fell to the ground where it melted and was soaked into the dust.

A sudden rumble shook the ground. The rubble pile they had been standing next to collapsed, sending chunks of stone rolling about the square. The shaking faded a moment later.

"What was that?" Kael said as she steadied herself.

"Earthquake," Izaac replied, running a hand through his hair. "It's weird; we don't usually get those down here."

Kael looked up as Aegis rose into the air, a frown etched on his face. "Aegis? What is it?"

"Something is wrong." Aegis stared at where the Equilibrium Gate stood on the other side of the square. The Gate, normally a violet-tinted window that looked out on the outskirts of Pellow Village, had gone dark.

What occurred next happened very quickly. It began as a low hum of energy emanating from the blackened Gate. Within seconds, the humming became a high, ear-splitting screech that rent the air to pieces. Kael clapped both hands over her ears in the attempt to block it out just as Aegis writhed in mid-air as the sound bit at his essence. The screeching escalated, becoming louder and louder until it was well past deafening. There was one, last cry from the gate, punctuated by a surge of energy that momentarily filled the entire city with bright, white light. All thoughts of removing bodies and clearing rubble were forgotten as humans and creatures alike stampeded blindly in the attempt to escape the searing light.

It was over as quickly as it had begun; the light vanished, leaving spots floating in Kael's vision as she squinted to see in the darkness.

"Kael, are you hurt?" Izaac's voice came from somewhere on her right.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Can't see very much, but I'm fine, otherwise."

Kael scanned the air above her for any sign of her Soul Ally.

"See Aegis anywhere?" she asked.

A pause as Izaac searched the darkness, as well. "I don't see him," the other Soulweaver replied. "Weird. A spirit like him should be like a beacon in this dark."

"Aegis!" Kael called, starting forward. "Speak up if you can hear me!" Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness by then. She could make out the Gate, once again a purple-tinted window, glowing dimly a short distance away.

A low moan met Kael's ears from over near the Gate.

"Aegis?" She hurried across the rubble-strewn ground, tripping over splintered wood and crumbled masonry.

It was Aegis, all right. He was lying face down in the dirt, helm askew. The light that normally emanated from his skin had gone out, signaling that he was unconscious. But Aegis hadn't been the one who had moaned…

There was a second figure lying on the ground. Kael rummaged in the pouch she kept tied to her belt until her fingers met the smooth surface of a crystal. A whispered word and a rush of energy later, the crystal was glowing brightly in her hand.

Now that she could see what she was doing, she bent down to examine the second figure.

It was a young man, more of a boy, really, filthy and covered in blood. He lay there, curled up in the dirt, left hand pressed against a gaping hole in his shoulder where his right arm should have been in the attempt to staunch the alarming amount of blood that was pouring through his fingers.

Kael turned him over so he lay on his back. He was conscious, but only barely, and he made no protest at her touch. Reaching once more into the pouch she kept at her belt, she pulled out a vial of blood-red potion and uncorked it. Gently, she pried his hand away from the bleeding wound and tipped the tiny bottle so that a few drops of the potion fell onto the wound, mixing with the blood. There was a faint hiss and a brief whiff of singed flesh as the potion cauterized the wound, effectively halting the flow of blood from it. For a moment, the boy's face contorted in pain as the potion did its work, but quickly settled into a grimace of discomfort.

Placing one hand under the boy's neck, she tilted his head back and poured a small amount of the potion into his mouth. He choked a little, but managed to swallow it.

After re-corking the vial and stuffing it back into her bag, she passed her hands over the boy's face and chest. Her eyes were closed as she touched the boy's soul with her own, examining it. The boy's soul was whole and untainted. A little worn, perhaps, but whole. Satisfied, Kael withdrew her hands and called over to Izaac. "Little help, here!" She heard footsteps as Izaac approached, followed by a murmured curse of alarm. "Can you carry Aegis? I need to get them both above ground; there's not much I can do for them down here."

"Sure." Izaac bent down and lifted the unconscious spirit into his arms with a grunt. "This guy's heavier than he looks."

"Yeah, you'd think spirits would weigh next to nothing," she replied as she hooked one arm under the boy's knees and the other under his shoulders. "Oh, fuck," she cursed softly as she lifted the boy into the air, staggering for a moment. "What's this kid made of, stone? I should've made you carry him."

Izaac laughed dryly in reply. Fortunately, the portal back to Falconreach was only a short distance away, so it didn't take long to reach it.

The boy's eyes were open as Kael carried him up to the portal, but only just. Looking down at him, she caught a glimpse of golden irises before the boy shut his eyes again, evidently falling into unconsciousness.

"Can't remember the last time I was above ground," Izaac muttered as they stepped up to the portal.

"I think it's been a week for me," Kael replied absentmindedly. "Wow, only a week. Feels a lot longer than that." She glanced down at the portal, then back up at Izaac. "Ready?"

Izaac nodded, and together, they jumped into the swirling light of the portal.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well, there's the first chapter done. I will admit that, as usual, I really have no idea where this story is going. It's just one of those things that I'm making up as I go along.

Please review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated!

**Next Chapter: **Kael and Izaac arrive in Falconreach, Ed regains consciousness… but how will he react to a world of magic?


	2. Tension

**Author's Note: **And now we have chapter two! Yay! I really don't have a lot to say here, so onward to the story!

Oh, one thing I want to mention, though: I am working on a silly little comic strip that I update randomly. It is not related to this or any of my other stories, but if you're interested, the link to my deviantart page is on my profile. Ok, NOW on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not, nor will I ever, own either Dragonfable or Fullmetal Alchemist (in any of its incarnations). I am merely toying with their characters to suit my own fangirl-ish tendencies. Kael and Nirin, however, do belong to me.

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

**Tension**

_Falconreach_

_The World of Lore_

Due to the large group of people working to transport the dead and wounded out of Ravenloss, the normal bustle of Falconreach had grown since Kael had last been above ground. As with the usual procedures during any war, Serenity's inn was being used as a makeshift hospital for those needing medical attention. The dead, however, were being carted away to a tent just outside of the town walls to be identified and returned to their families.

"I need a little help over here!" Kael shouted the moment she and Izaac exited the portal. Serenity looked up from the door to her inn and waved them over.

"Reens is upstairs caring for some of the wounded," the innkeeper said, her eyes widening at the sight of the unconscious spirit and the boy with one arm. "There are a few beds prepared in the room at the end of the hall on this floor," she added, pointing in the direction of the back hallway. "Put them down there, and I'll go tell Reens you need to see her right away."

"Thanks," Kael called to Serenity's retreating back as she started walking towards the indicated hallway, Izaac following close behind.

As Serenity had said, there were three empty beds in the last room on that hallway. Kael set the boy down in one of the beds, and Izaac laid Aegis down in another. A little frost broke off of Izaac's Soul Claws as he did so.

"You think he'll be alright?" Izaac asked, picking a few bits of ice off of his claws.

"Aegis? Oh, yeah, he'll be fine. I think the blast from that explosion just shook up his essence a little. I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon."

"And the kid?"

"I have no idea."

Reens entered the room just then, holding a bag stocked with various potions and herbs in her arms.

"See to the kid, first," Kael said, jerking a thumb at the boy in the bed behind her. Reens rushed forward and knelt by the boy's side. "When I found him, he looked like his arm had just been cut off. I was able to stop the bleeding, but I don't know if that was the only damage he had."

"Did you have him drink any healing potions?" Reens asked, her normally smiling face grave and weary-looking as she checked the boy's pulse. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"I gave him a little of one of mine," Kael replied. "He had a hard time swallowing it, and he fell unconscious before I could make him drink the whole thing."

"That's probably best." Reens's hands were glowing by then. "Too much of that stuff in his state might not be very good for him." She ran her hands up and down the boy's body, no doubt checking for any signs of internal injury. "He's got some bruises and scrapes here and there, I'm not finding any major injuries other than the arm, but he definitely lost a lot of blood. He'll be weak for a while, but that's nothing that- wait." Reens froze, her hands hovering over the boy's left leg. "What the…? It's like his leg ends here."

"What?" Kael said, leaning forward to look over Reens's shoulder. "But there's a foot there. He's definitely got two legs." She prodded the kid's left shoe to prove her point. Reens waved her away.

"There's a faint energy signature below the knee, but it's not connected with his life force in any way."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I know that," Reens replied with a frown. She yanked the boy's pant leg up and gasped in surprise. In place of an ordinary leg was one made of metal. "Odd."

This time it was Izaac who leaned over Reens to get a better look. "Looks like steel."

"Wonder what the kid did to get himself a steel limb," Kael commented, also leaning forward.

"No idea."

"Give me space, please!" Reens exclaimed, shoulders tense at being in such close proximity with the two Soulweavers. Izaac stepped back into a corner, hands raised. Kael straightened up, but did not back away. Still uneasy, Reens turned back to the boy. "Metal limbs aside, the kid should be fine after plenty of rest and regular healing spells." She got to her feet and went to the other side of the bed to examine the empty shoulder socket on the boy's right side. "What I don't understand, though," she continued, her fingers gently prodding the magically-sealed wound. "Is what exactly caused this sort of damage. There's traces of metal here, too."

"Think he had a metal arm before it got cut off?" Kael guessed. "Or maybe whatever did it broke off, or something."

Reens shook her head. "No, I'm guessing that the metal was probably there before the arm was cut off. Some of the pieces of metal look like they were sliced in half, and the cut's too clean for it to have been caused by an ordinary weapon. Even a magical blade couldn't have done something like this." Her hands glowed again, checking the wound over for things that couldn't be seen. "And any type of magic that I know of would have left some kind of trace, whether it was part of a weapon or just a spell. Whatever did this is nothing like anything I've ever seen before."

"Can you take a guess?"

Reens didn't answer right away. She checked the wound over once more, and frowned. "I can't even begin to." The glow left her hands and she got to her feet. "I'll keep a close eye on him for a while, just to make sure that whatever did this to him has no adverse effects."

Kael dragged the chair from the corner of the room so that it was next to Aegis's bed. "I'll send a letter to Warlic later. If anyone knows what sort of power was used, he would."

Reens nodded and glanced apprehensively at the unconscious spirit. "Do you need me to look at him?"

Kael shook her head. "I can take care of him. You have other patients to see to, and I don't want to keep you."

"Alright," Reens replied. She handed Kael two bottles of red potion. "If the kid wakes up before I get back, have him drink one of those. The other is for your spirit friend, if he is in pain." She tucked a few sweaty strands of sapphire hair behind one ear and sighed wearily. "If you need to leave before either the kid wakes up or I come back, just leave the potion on the table in the corner and tell Serenity when you leave." Without waiting for a response from either Kael or Izaac, she left the room, clearly glad to get away from the two Soulweavers.

Kael reached out and took Aegis's gloved hand in her own. A shiver ran down her spine and her hand was instantly chilled to the bone at his touch. Good. His life wasn't in danger, then. When it came to Aegis, the colder he was, the better. Too much heat meant almost certain death to the spirit.

"So what are you going to do now?" Izaac asked as he leaned against one wall.

"Once Aegis is awake I'll take him to my house over near Oaklore. It's best that he doesn't stay here for too long."

Izaac nodded understandingly. "And then what?"

Kael stretched her arms over her head. "Send a message to Warlic about the kid. Hopefully he'll know something. And, once Aegis is up to it, I plan on going to Willowshire. From what I hear, things are heating up there again and I figured I should be a part of it."

"Don't you think you should rest first?"

"For a day or two, maybe. It all depends on how fast Aegis recovers. And you know me, I don't like to linger for too long."

"I'm still amazed that you spend so much time above ground as it is," Izaac commented.

Kael shot him an annoyed look. "I was a Dragon Lord before I even knew Soulweavers still existed, and I earned a reputation that way. People trust me, despite the path I have chosen."

Izaac sighed. "You're one of the lucky ones, then." He glanced down at Kael. She was still holding Aegis's hand, which made him wonder if her hand had gone numb yet. "Do you need me to stick around?"

She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

He nodded. "Come back when you get the chance. And I'll be sure to let you know if Tomix ever comes back from that quest of his."

She smiled wearily up at him. "Thanks. I'll drop by the next time I'm in the area."

Izaac straightened up and left the room, waving goodbye to her as he did so.

Finally left alone in the quiet room, Kael was at last able to relax. She let go of Aegis's hand and slumped in her chair, her eyes drooping. What was the last time she had slept? Before that whole mess underground, that was certain. She had pretty much been running on a mixture of potions and adrenaline that whole time, and now that there was a reprieve, all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

She jerked herself awake. No sleeping just yet. She still had to wait until Aegis woke so they could get out of the most crowded part of town. The people tolerated her well enough, but elemental spirits like Aegis weren't always welcomed with open arms.

Aegis stirred and let out a low sigh. Opening one deep blue eye, he looked over at Kael.

"What happened?" he asked in his voice of ice shards.

"An explosion. The blast knocked you out."

"My charm?" He had both eyes open now, and was trying to lift his head so he could reassure himself that he hadn't lost his only possession.

"Still on your wrist," Kael promised. She rotated the chain on his wrist and pressed the charm into his palm. He sighed in relief. "How are you feeling? Any pain anywhere?"

He shut his eyes again. "No pain," answered quietly. "Just… drained. I do not like this feeling of exhaustion."

"Think you'll be able to walk a little ways?"

Blue eyes glanced at her. "Why?"

"I want to move you to my house outside of town. It'll be a lot quieter and less crowded there."

"Where is Nirin?"

"He's outside the city walls. It's a bit of a walk to get to him, though. Think you can make it?"

Aegis shut his eyes again as he forced himself into a sitting position. "I will manage, though a little assistance would be appreciated." Kael bent down and took the spirit's arm. Ignoring the freezing cold that shot through her, she placed Aegis's arm around her shoulder and helped him to his feet.

"Thank you," he said. He was leaning heavily against her, feet planted on the ground. A little frost crept up around his feet, digging into the wooden floor. "I do not remember the last time I have walked on the ground."

Kael smirked. "That's because you spend all your time floating around like some kind of shiny blue fairy."

Aegis shot her a sideways glare. "Do not compare me to those insignificant pests."

"Yeah, yeah," Kael laughed. Aegis's glare became a small smile. "Let's go."

A nod to Serenity and several minutes later, Kael and Aegis were outside among the chaos once more. A pair of Guardians carrying a wounded Paladin on a stretcher shoved past them in their hurry. Kael ignored them and simply helped Aegis along.

Once past the crowded main square, the going was a little easier. Aegis continued to put most of his weight onto Kael's shoulder, seemingly unaware of how cold he was making her feel.

They hobbled along, ignoring the glances they were getting from the civilians that had not taken part in aiding the wounded. A few window shutters slammed closed as they moved past, and one woman hurried to pull her young child back inside before they could get too close.

"They are wary of us," Aegis stated, not looking anywhere except for what was straight ahead. "More than usual."

"It's that fucking war. You can pretty much guarantee that a lot of people up here on the surface think that it was the Soulweavers that started it, and with us in the middle of it all…" Kael trailed off mid-sentence to emphasize her point. Aegis said nothing in reply as they neared the edges of the town. At one point, Kael repressed a shiver that was less from the cold and more from the flat stare they were getting from the strange man in the black cloak that kept trying to sell her cursed weapons every time she got within twenty feet of him. "We're almost there."

A few minutes later, they reached the wall that surrounded the town. One of the soldiers standing guard nodded to Kael as they passed. Kael waved back, pleased that not everyone was treating them with disdain. Of course, the majority of the Guardians in Falconreach knew enough of Kael's reputation to know that she was probably the strongest of their allies after Warlic and Lady Celestia. And perhaps Cysero, but not many people counted him, what with his strange obsession with sponges soaked in nitroglycerin.

Just outside the city walls was an enormous, silver dragon. It lifted its head when Kael and Aegis approach, and a low hum rumbled in its throat.

"I'll explain on the way," Kael assured the worried dragon, her voice rasping as she spoke in Draconic. The dragon nodded and let both human and spirit climb up.

A few flaps of the dragon's wings later, they had taken to the skies, headed straight for Oaklore.

* * *

><p><em>The following evening.<em>

Ed's first thought when he regained consciousness was that he had to make sure that Al was alright. Listening to the sounds around him, he thought he could hear all the soldiers from Briggs talking outside.

Wait… If there were people talking outside, what was he doing inside? He had definitely been outside when he had started that last transmutation, hadn't he?

And on top of it all, everything hurt, like he had been forced through a very small tunnel before being beaten to a pulp by a huge metal fist. His right shoulder, especially, felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly with a sharp poker that had been sitting in a fire for a good few hours.

The sound of a door creaking open nearby drew his attention. Dragging footsteps drew closer until they were right next to him. There was a sigh, a clink of what sounded like a few glass bottles tapping one another, then a warm hand rested on his forehead. The hand lifted after a moment and began prodding at his body with the expert touch of a doctor.

Had something happened to him when he had done that transmutation?

The person's hands poked at his right shoulder. A jolt of pain shot through him that he wasn't prepared for, making him grunt involuntarily.

Oh. Right. That bastard Truth had taken his arm. Again.

"Well, you've got feeling there," a woman's voice said from right next to him. "Are you awake?"

Slowly, he opened his eyes. There was a ceiling above him, which meant that he definitely been brought inside. He turned his head, wondering who was taking care of him and if she was someone he had met before, seeing as he had at least met nearly all of the nurses at Central Hospital, what with the amount of time he seemed to spend there.

The woman that was standing there was definitely not one of the nurses at Central Hospital. For one thing, she was not dressed in the uniform the nurses wore, and secondly, she had _blue hair._ BLUE hair. He suspected that she dyed it, or something along those lines, not that there was any reason for _anyone_ to want to have hair that color.

"I guess so," the woman said, relaxing her stance a little. "How are you feeling?"

His right shoulder throbbed painfully.

"Could be better," he mumbled in response, trying his hardest to focus on the woman's unusual hair color in order to distract himself from the pain.

"Any pain anywhere?" she asked with all the smooth efficiency of a doctor. It was that tone in her voice that kept him from going crazy and demanding where he was and what was going on, because it may have taken him a good thirty seconds to notice, but this was _definitely_ not anywhere in Central as far as he could tell. The walls and floors were wood, as was the ceiling, and there didn't seem to be any electric lights anywhere. Instead, there were a couple of odd lamps mounted on the wall by the door, and a simple oil lamp on the table in the corner.

Ed nodded, using every ounce of control to keep any signs of pain out of his face, though that control was quickly slipping.

"Where?" the woman asked, concerned.

"Shoulder," he said with a grimace.

The woman nodded. "I'll get you something for the pain." She left the room.

The room spun as Ed forced himself to sit up. His hand gripped the sheets beneath him as he willed the floor to stay still like it was supposed to, and after a moment it settled. He moved his feet beneath the blankets, and was relieved to see that he still had both of them. He shoved the blankets away and swung his legs around so that his feet were on the floor. The room started to spin again, so he fixed his eyes on his bare, mismatched feet and waiting for his vision to stop swimming.

When he pushed himself into a standing position, he nearly fell back onto the bed as the room tilted dangerously, but he managed to keep standing through sheer force of will.

His first few steps after that were, for lack of a better word, nauseating. Everything in his line of sight swam and slid in and out of focus and he could feel a cold sweat start to break out on his brow. But somehow, he managed to make it out of the room, down a hallway, and into a larger room that seemed to be halfway between a hotel and a hospital. A blond woman was dressing an ugly-looking leg wound on a man that looked like he was fighting not to cry out. The blue-haired woman he had met a few minutes earlier was in a corner on the far side of the room, giving out instructions to a few assistants. No one there paid him any mind as he staggered to the door that would lead outside. Somehow, he had to find a way home, and even though he had no idea where in the world he was, or even what world he was in, the only logical first step he could think of was to see what sort of place he had landed in and try to get his bearings.

The front door swung open and a pair of armor-clad men entered carrying a third man on a stretcher.

"We got another one!" the taller of the armored men shouted. The blond woman looked up and sighed.

"How many more this time?" the woman replied wearily.

"We got five more coming up from underground," the shorter of the two men answered. "They're still digging out the bodies, so it's likely there'll be more."

"Though I expect we'll be finding more dead than alive by now. It's been two days."

Ed caught the door before it closed and walked passed the two men. Neither paid him any heed as he stepped outside.

Outside was some kind of square filled with the same sort of chaos that had taken over the building he had just exited. A tall man stood in the center of the square, shouting orders to other people who wore the same armor as the two men Ed had heard talking inside. Some were loading a cart with what looked like dead bodies, others were tending to those among the wounded that did not need emergency care.

It seemed as though Ed had left one war zone only to enter another.

An alarmed shout behind him reminded him that he was still standing in the doorway, his one hand keeping the door from swinging shut. The blue-haired woman came running up behind him, her face contorted in anger and worry.

"What do you think you're doing up?" she demanded, taking hold of his arm in an attempt to pull him back inside. "You need to rest!" she insisted, pulling on his arm, but he stood firm.

"What is happening here?" he asked, still refusing to let go of the door.

The woman froze and fixed him with an incredulous stare. "You don't know?" At Ed's blank stare, the woman's shoulders sagged as she sighed. "Come back inside, I'll explain as best as I can." She tugged on his arm again, but this time he complied, letting his eyes slide out of focus as his vision swam once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Ah, our favorite alchemist is awake! I honestly have no idea if I'm getting his character right, as this is pretty much my first time writing a Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction, so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions that would help me on that.

Hmm, this chapter is a bit shorter than I'd like it to be, but I've been dealing with writer's block throughout the whole time I was writing this, so it's lucky that it's this long.

A note on how Soulweavers are viewed in this story: the concept of Soulweaving is a sensitive subject for many people in Lore (in this story, at least), what with the nature of the magic involved. In this story, Soulweaver magic manipulated and destroys the soul of a target, but leaves the body intact, which is viewed as being unnatural. This topic will be explained in further detail later on.

Please review! I thrive off of constructive criticism, but feedback of any kind is loved and appreciated!

Next Chapter: Ed is overwhelmed by this new world, Aegis is puzzled, and Kael writes to Warlic. Filler chapter, yes, but important nonetheless!


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